Chương 29: 029

Silas laughed. The sound was harsh and scraping, and somehow it anchored me, kept me from dissolving entirely beneath the weight of what I'd done. Maya snapped out of her frozen shock with a sound somewhere between a sob and a scream. Her fists slammed into my chest again and again, small but desperate, each blow driven by raw, unfiltered grief.

"You hurt him!" she cried.

"You said you wanted to help, you said-!" The words collapsed into broken sobs, her voice shredding itself apart. Every instinct I had screamed to pull her close, to soothe, to lie if I had to-. I didn't. There was nothing I could say that would help. Her father was dead because of me. No comfort could touch that. So I stayed silent, throat burning as nausea rolled through me again. Maya's blows grew frantic, her limbs lashing out wildly, striking wherever they could land. Silas laughed harder.

"My, my," he drawled.

"What a violent little thing. Perhaps I should take her off your hands… well, hand." I ignored the jab. My focus locked on his fingers as they twitched, reaching. I snapped backward too fast, lost my balance, and hit the ground hard. Silas's laughter followed me down, but I barely heard it. I scrabbled away on instinct, dragging Maya with me, desperate to put distance between her and him.

I'd already failed her in the worst possible way, but if I could just get her away from him, maybe something could still be saved. I staggered upright, hauling her back, away from Silas and away from her father's body. She fought harder now, shrieking, twisting, her grief sharpening into feral desperation. I tightened my grip, ignoring the bruises blooming beneath her fists. Silas watched, amused, making no move to intervene. I didn't trust the mercy, but I took it. I scanned wildly for an escape. There wasn't one.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Behind me lay the field of bodies and shattered armor. In my state, I wouldn't make it ten steps through them. Even if I could, Silas wasn't about to let Fast Forward slip through his fingers again. Plans flared and died in the same heartbeat. Surrounded. Broken. Outmatched. Sharp fingernails bit into my shoulder, the ruined one. I hissed as pain ripped me back into the present. Maya had found the weak point.

She dug in mercilessly, fingers tearing into fresh wounds until blood streamed down my side. My grip faltered, instinct overriding will, and she wrenched free. I reached for her. Missed. In a blink, she collapsed beside her father, curling against his armor, her sobs muffled into cold steel. I didn't try to pull her away again. The world tilted violently. I sucked in breath after breath, but it felt like air wouldn't reach my lungs.

Exhaustion crashed down on me, thick and suffocating, until I dropped to my knees and clawed at the grass just to stay upright. Silas circled me leisurely.

"Ah," he mused, "it seems the consequences are finally setting in." He nudged my chin up with the flat of his blade.

"Losing a limb. Burning through your mana. It's all catching up. Tell me, how does it feel to realize I made a fool of you?" His sneer sharpened.

"You noble types are always the same. You rush to protect the weak. Makes you wonderfully easy to trap." His gaze flicked toward the wall.

"Dominicus was no different. I only had to tell him that little brat needed help." He chuckled.

"He slaughtered an entire cell of resistance before the truth caught up with him." At least I wasn't the only one who'd fallen for the act. It was cold comfort for my pride, if nothing else. I swallowed it down and glared at him.

"Laugh all you want. Even if kindness keeps putting me in hell, I'll still choose it." Silas arched a brow.

"And how did that work out for you?" I flinched but didn't look away.

"It would've been fine if not for the lying sack of shit king who used me." Something dark flickered across his face—gone in an instant, replaced by that pleasant mask.

"Oh?" he said lightly.

"You want kindness?" He turned toward Maya.

"Very well." Every instinct in me screamed.

"Get away from her!" I shouted. Silas ignored me. He approached her slowly, voice soft, coaxing, sickeningly gentle.

"Maya," he crooned.

"Would you like me to bring your Adan back?" I pushed myself upright, dizziness tearing at me.

"Don't listen to him!" Silas glanced my way and flicked his wrist. An invisible force slammed me flat. Weight crushed my chest, stealing the air from my lungs. I gasped, iron flooding my mouth as pain flared through my ribs.

"You wanted kindness," Silas hissed.

"Now watch." Maya lifted her head, hope trembling in her tear-soaked eyes.

"You can… bring him back?" Silas nodded solemnly.

"Of course. I'll need your help, though." Wrong. Every shred of me screamed wrong as I fought for breath.

"Don't-!" The pressure increased, my ribs screaming as darkness crept into my vision. Maya hesitated. Silas's smile sharpened.

"Why believe him?" he murmured.

"He's the one who killed your Adan." The hesitation vanished. She shook her head and turned away from me.

"How do I help?" Silas drew her closer, his smile predatory where she couldn't see it.

"You make a promise," he said softly.

"An oath." My heart slammed against my ribs.

"Your life," Silas finished, "for his." Damn it. I knew it was going to be something like that.